William i



@uitrit tutes @anni ffice.

WILLIAM. fr.' DUVALL, or Y, GEORGETOWN, `Drs'rnio'r or coLUMiA.

l n Y i l Letters Patent No. 69,784; dated Ouctobcil, 1867.

IMPROVD APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING GOLD, dto.

y die .rlpjule aferra in in tipa tetter lrieut mit 'mating part nf tp smut.-

'ro ALL WHOM 1T MAX@ concerns; Y

Be it' known that I, W'JILLIAM` ",l. DUVALL, of Georgetown, in the county of Washington, and District of Columbia, have made certai-'il new and` useful improvements in Apparatus for Washing Gold or other Substancesf and I doih'ereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and caract description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, through'letters of reference'marked thereon, forming part of this apeciticatiom-in which V Figure 1 represents a tp view of my apparatusas applied for extracting gold, Btc., from the iiow of a branch;

"Figure/2 is a side view of the same, a part being shown in section. v Figure 3 is a top view ofl a similar apparatus as combined with accntrifugal pump for forcing an upward ,current therethrough.

Figure 1 is an end elevationl of the same. l Figure 5 is a vertical longitudinal section thereof, taken through the l'centre of'tig. 4. Figure 6 is a top view, with the pump arranged at the upperend to operate it by vacuum. Fig-ure. is an end elevatirmiv of the same I I Figure 8 is a'vertical longitudinal section, taken through the centre-of g. 7. Figures 9 and 10 show anelevation and end view of a suction pipepto take the'place of the lower `connection, shown in iig. 8.

The same letters of'refe-rence occurring in the several igures indicate corresponding parts. My invention relates to that class of machinery used for separating deposits of gold, ,or precious metals, die., found in the beds of rivers Aor other Water-courses and vit consists, first, in a peculiar construction'and l arrangement of deposit-chambers o r traps, forming a series, each successive on'e of which. 'having a'. larger dischargeorifice than the preceding one, whereby the velocity of the current is gradually decreased, and the heavierrparticles are rst separated, then' those of less specific gravity, and lastly the iines't are deposited;` it also consists i'n thecornbination, with such series, of a centrifugal or other suitable pump, ofifsuch character as to serve the twofold purpose of forcing the current, and atjthe same time of agitating the earthy liquid, so as to 'cause the perfect separation of all the heavier particles; furthermore,it consists in the arrangement of the pump at thetop of such series ofy traps or chambers, and a 'modification-of the lower end ofthe apparatus, whereby it may be operated byproducing a vacuum therein, and may be applied to raise the richdeposits directly from the beds of streams, or from their lodgments between rocks therein, or from other otherwise inaccessible places; and further, in the application to said' series of chambers or traps of an attachment, whereby a column or head of water, supplied thereto from a branch known-tc contain rich deposits, said deposits may be separatedl therefrom by the vnatural ow of' the water-through the-apparatus; and italso consists in a peculiar f construction of said deposit-chambers, whereby the apparatus is rendered exceedingly portable, so that it may be conveyed from place to place and set up for operation in a very short space of time'/ I i To enable others`to make and u se my invention I will proceedv to describe its construction and operation by referring to the drawings, inivjr'yhich :A represents a tub or reservoir, made of any suitable material, into which the earthy products ofthe stream are caused to flow, or are otherwise'depositedi- In' this vessel is also placed a quantityV cfr mercury. Above or conveniently situated with regard to this reservoir is a centrifugal pump, zthe suctionpipe H of which extends-downwardinto said reservoir nearly to the surface ofthe mercury, or this Avessel may be dispensed with, and the apparatus be worked on board a vessel or boat, by extendingvthe suction pipeH down to the bed of the stream, by passing it over or` through the side of said vessel. As this pump-,may be offany known construction, any further description ofitrhere'is deemed unnecessary, further than to say that the centrifugal 'principle is preferred, from the fact of itsl requiring no valves, which would be liable` to obstruction, andat the same time it has the eiiect of beating, as it were, and thus separating the earthy particles as they'pass through it, and are discharged at the outlet` C, where the stream cornes in contact with a deflector, a, which directs it downward into a pocket, b. This pocket is nearly lled with mercury which seizes the heaviest particles of precious metals, whilst those of less specific gravity are carried forward by the force of the current.vv A secondary pocket, b,.serves to Vreceive theoveriiow o i' mercury from 'pocket b as it is disearns 2 placed by the deposit therein of metal of greater, specific gravity. 'Ihe current thence taking an upward direction discharges inte the chamber c, which surrounds the nozzle e. In this chamber is also placed a quantity of mercury. Here the velocity of the current is checked by the further extension of the pipe, through which it passes, being of larger arca, by which means those particles of the next greatest specific gravity are caused to diverge outwardly from. the current and fall into the chamber or trap e, and, as the current continues upward, the same effect is produced on its passage through the chamber el, (the velocity of the current being again slab-hellem) and so again on its passage through the chamber e2, where the velocity is so far reduced as to be' able only to discharge the muddy water deprived of all its riches. Each of these chambers c el e2, and pockets and b1, on stopping the above-described operation, will be charged with an amalgam of gold or other precious metals and mercury, which may be drawn oil" through suitable st op-cocks or plugs d, and after re-charging thcseveral chambers with mercury the operation may be resumed as before.

The arrangements represented in the other figures on the drawing are but modifications of the same apparatus, as, for instance, that represented in figs. I and 2 is adapted to receive a stream from a mountain side or other elevation, in which case I detach the pump from the other portion of the apparatus by unscrewing the flange z' and attaching in place thereof the funnel-mouthed pipe D, which extends to a greater elevation than the discharge orice 7L of the other portion of the apparatus, so as to cause its contents to flow therethrough. This pipe D is of larger diameter than its discharge, and is provided, at its lower end, with a pocket, Z1, which is charged with mercury, and operates the same as the pocket b, before described. It is also provided with a diaphragm, 7c, dividing the ares. of its cross-section at the level of its discharge orifice, .sons to cause the current to pass downward into and through the pocket b3, before it reaches the pocket 6, and vthere deposit the heavier portion of its precious metals. The operation of this apparatus, thcneeforward, is the same as that already described.

Figures 6, 7, and 8 represent another modification of my apparatus, adapted 'for use in positions where it would be diiicult to operate the pump at the lower portion of the apparatus, in which case I attach a vertical chamber, E, to the ilange i; said chamber being provided with a suction pipe, m, the upper end of which extends into it, forming an annular chamber or trap therein similar to those formed in the chambers e, and which is charged with mercury and operates in the same manner as said chambers e. I then attach the pump B, by its ce'ntral or suction orifice, to the iange n at the upper end of the series of chambers e el c, having first removed thsdischarge elbow pipe G, and the suction pipe H, which were previously attached as represented in figs. 3, 4, and 5. In this arrangement the apparatus is operated by producing' a vacuum therein, and thus causing a flow through it.

A still further modification is contemplated in case it is desired to explore the beds of streams or among rocks, I detach the lower portion from the chamber e and substitute therefor a straight suction pipe, J, which, entering the same distance into said chamber, forms a corresponding trap therein, and may be used to try thc beds or other new localities by operating the pump on top, as described in the last-named arrangement.

It may be proper to remark here that the series of chambers c may be increased or diminished in number, as circumstances may require, according to the richness of the deposit. I may further add that it is apparent that this principle, of separating particles of varying specific gravity, may be operated by air, or the like, with the same elfect as with water, and may be used for separating grain and various other commodities, to which purposes I intend to apply it, and which may constitute subjects of additional patents.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The series of chambers or traps e, so constructed and arranged that greater freedom of egress is afforded in each successive chamber', whereby the vel'ocity of the current is reduced, and the heavier particles are deposited successively therein, according to their specific gravity, substantially as and for the purposes sot forth.

2. In combination with said series of chambers e s. centrifugal or other suitable pump, to force the current, and at the same time to agitato the earthy liquid, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

v 3. The arrangement of the pump at the top of said serie-s of chambers, so as to operate the apparatus by producing a vacuum therein, essentially ss and for the purposes described.

4. The arrangement and combination ofthe pump and the series of chambers c, as shown in iig. 8, with Ythe straight suction pipe J, essentially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In combination with said Series of chambers e, I claim the pipe D, for operating by a column or head 0f water, substantially as described.

6. I claim the chambers e, constructed in separate parts, as represented, the nozzle of each protruding into the chamber of the next, forming annular receptacles, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

WM. T. DUVALL.

Witnesses:

SYDNEY E. SMITH, W. Messrs SMITH. 

